Throughout the month of Elul that precedes Rosh Hashanah, Jews look closely at themselves and their actions during the previous year. They ask God for forgiveness and mercy. They ask family and friends for forgiveness. On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, the dress rehearsal is over. The real thing is here.

J.H.M. Photography

Rosh Hashanah-also known as Yom HaDin, the Day of Judgment-begins an intense ten-day period in the Jewish calendar that concludes on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. During these ten days of repentance, tradition teaches, God makes decisions on who will live and who will die during the year ahead. Prayers in synagogue focus on repentance and ask God for inscription in the book of life and for a good year.

Rosh Hashanah falls on the first two days of the month of Tishrei. Unlike other Jewish holidays, where Israel celebrates only one day while the Diaspora celebrates two, Rosh Hashanah lasts for two days in Israel as well; Jewish tradition teaches that Rosh Hashanah is really one long day. Reform Jews celebrate only one day of Rosh Hashanah. Though the Hebrew calendar follows the lunar cycle, the month of Tishrei typically falls in September.

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are known together as Yamim Nora'im, the Days of Awe, or simply, the High Holy Days. Rosh Hashanah marks both a joyous and somber period. Worshipers joyously feel closer to God and are hopeful that their prayers will grant them health, happiness and prosperity; it's also a time when families get together for meals and in synagogue. At the same time, the burden of God's judgment weighs heavily on the entire period.

It is common on Rosh Hashanah to see people in their finest clothes, often wearing something new. Many men don white kittels (robes) to symbolize purity and God's cleansing of sins. In synagogue, the curtains for the ark and coverings for the Torah scrolls and bimah (Torah reading table) are switched to white.